Month: January 2017

I love soup as a vehicle for eating crackers, chips or other carbs, but I am trying to be better about that. This soup is so filling and tasty that it hardly needs any extra items for dipping, etc. It’s delicious on its own or with some fresh avocado on top. Its savory and full of vegetables.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breasts

1 finely chopped onion

2-3 finely diced jalapeños (seeds and membranes removed)

2 zucchinis, diced into bite sized pieces.

2 cups of shredded carrots (I used pre-shredded.)

1 can of diced tomatoes and green chills (rotel)

1 can of drained black beans

32 oz carton chicken broth

2 heaping tablespoons of chopped garlic

2/3 of a small can of tomato paste (about 3-4 tablespoons)

1 Tablespoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

optional: squeeze of lime

Instructions

Stir together all ingredients in the Instant Pot.

Put on lid and seal. Set on “Poultry” (15 minutes) and cook. (It will take about 15 minutes for the pot to heat.)

Depressurize, remove lid. Remove chicken and dice or shred. Add chicken back to the soup. Stir and serve.

*I think this soup is great alone or with fresh avocado. But, depending on your tastes, you may like it with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips or some warm tortillas.

I love all the quick chicken recipes out there: buffalo chicken, bar b que chicken, or salsa chicken. So easy and quick. But, all of those recipes are kinda “shreddy”….They all shred up for you to put on a potato, tortilla, bun, etc. I wanted to start making more quick chicken recipes that weren’t so shreddy, and thus this recipe was born. Now, this chicken is very tender so if you want to shred it, then by all means…But, I like it served as a whole piece.

I feel silly giving this recipe a name like “greek chicken” … Its really not fancy and the only thing that makes it greek is…

This Greek seasoning is super tasty and is great to add to marinades, chicken, vegetables, soups, etc. It is the star of the show for this super fast recipe. There are two keys things that make this recipe work well: 1. Using super thin chicken breasts or tenderloins. 2. Using butter instead of oil to coat the pan. You can use oil if you wish, but I love butter for this for color and flavor!

Ingredients

1-2 Tablespoons butter

1-2 lbs chicken tenderloins or thinly sliced chicken breasts

Juice of 1 small lemon

Several good shakes of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

*Olives, tomatos, feta or any other topping you would like!

Instructions

Set your Instant Pot to “Sauté” (You do not add the lid when using “Sauté.”)

While the pot is heating up, sprinkle both sides of you chicken with greek seasoning. A good thorough, but light coating.

When the Instant Pot reads “Hot” add your butter and stir around to fully coat the bottom of the pan.

Add your chicken and let sit and brown for 1-2 minutes. I didn’t even flip my chicken over before cooking. Squeeze lemon juice all over chicken.

These are SO GOOD! If you’ve ever been intimidated by making beans, fear not. These require no soaking and no babysitting. No checking back to add more water…so simple! And, you can totally adjust the spice level to your family’s tastes. I only used 3 jalapeños and it wasn’t too spicy for my kids.

Ingredients

16 oz bag dried black-eyed peas

14 oz can chicken broth

3-4 diced jalapeños**

1 package of dried Lipton Onion Soup Mix

3 “cans” of water using the chicken broth can

**I removed all seeds and membranes so it wouldn’t be too spicy, if you like more kick, leave some seeds.You can even add more jalapeños if you’d like!

Instructions

Pour all ingredients into the Instant Pot and stir. Close lid, seal. Cook for 30 minutes. (Press “Bean/Chili”and it should come up as a 30 minute cook time.)

When 30 minutes are up, manual release, or it can release naturally if you’re not in the room! If you’re busy around the house, you can totally leave this for a while with the lid on, it won’t hurt.

Last, but not least, I wanted to give you all a little encouragement /advice through my Instant Pot mistakes!

The first time I made beans in the Instant Pot I opened and closed the pot 3 different times, because each time I hadn’t cooked them long enough to be tender. The first few times I made a roast I had to do the same thing because it wasn’t tender enough. But, what I found is that foods that are typically slow cooked are very forgiving if you need to close the pot and cook a little longer.

The one pot pasta dishes aren’t so forgiving- you sort of get one shot and if it’s over or under cooked, your done. I had to throw out an entire batch of beef stroganoff one time, and it took me several tries on my Cajun Chicken Pasta to get it right.

The little guide book that comes with the Instant Pot has great charts for cook times. With grains and rice it seems to always be exactly right for cook times. But, when cooking any type of meat you kind of have to factor in the size of your roast, pork loin, etc. There’s a big difference between a roast and beef tips. If you’re cooking really large pieces of meat, you may need longer than the guide book says.

Thanks for reading!! I hope to get more recipes up on the blog each week, but sometimes it takes me a couple of tries to get it written concisely! I would love to hear any of your favorite recipes, tips, tricks, etc!

My friend Kylie is a giver, a servant, and an amazing wife and mom. She also makes the best white chicken chili I’ve ever had. If you’re lucky enough to live near her, chances are she’s brought you some of this chili at some point. She’s made this recipe for my family during some of our best and worst days over the past several years.

(Kylie on the right. :-))

She gave me the recipe a couple years ago. While I’m not sure I’ll ever make it as well as she does, I have adapted it into an amazing Instant Pot recipe. It is super easy and quick. You throw it all in the pot, set it, and walk away for 30 minutes. Come back. Shred the chicken, add some cream and you’re done.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breasts (a little more or less won’t hurt!)

1 finely diced onion

2 jalapeños, seeded and diced

2 cans Great Northern Beans

2 small cans mild green chilis

2.5 cups chicken broth

2-3 cloves of chopped garlic OR 2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 cup whipping cream

8 oz sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste, I found that it needed a good teaspoon of salt and then a bit more. 😉

Instructions

Chop your vegetables. Place all ingredients into the pot except the whipping cream and sour cream.

Close pot, seal and set for 16 minutes. (It could be finished a couple minutes faster than this, but I think this amount of time makes the chicken more shreddable and allows the vegetables to get really tender.) Because the pot is very full, it will take the pot 10-15 minutes to heat up + the 16 minutes to cook.

When the time is up, depressurize and remove lid.

Shred chicken and stir in whipping cream and sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with shredded cheese, chips, avocado, etc. (I like some of those finely diced pickled jalapeños on top!!)

This recipe is actually really tasty without the whipping cream and sour cream if you’re doing Whole30 or dairy free. Just add plenty of avocado to it and it could be a great lighter meal.

There are many takes on “salsa chicken” out there. Basically in the Instant Pot you can put any salsa over chicken, cook for 15-20 minutes and you’re done: You’ve got great chicken to throw into a tortilla or on top of a salad.

However, if you don’t mind doing a little extra chopping, you can make your salsa chicken extra tasty. I like to do my chopping and throw this together at nap time, and by dinner it is done. (But you can also cook it quickly if you need that option.) This makes a ton, so I always freeze some of it.

Ingredients

3.5-4 lbs of chicken breasts

2 finely chopped poblano peppers

1 finely chopped onion

1 can chopped green chills (I used mild.)

1 jar of green salsa

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

Instructions

Mix peppers, onions, salsa and seasonings in the bottom of instant pot.

Add chicken breasts and stir to coat.

Seal and cook on “slow cooker” for 3 hours OR “poultry” for 22 minutes. It will be delicious if you pressure cook for the 22 minutes, but I definitely think it shreds a little more quickly if left for 3-4 hours. Totally up to you.

Drain the chicken out with a slotted spoon and shred!

It makes a lot of savory broth which is great for coating the chicken or saving for a soup!

The chicken itself is Whole30 approved if you check the labels on your green salsa…Where you take it from there is up to you…